Mark 14:6

THE MESSAGE

But Jesus said, "Let her alone. Why are you giving her a hard time? She has just done something wonderfully significant for me. You will have the poor with you every day for the rest of your lives. Whenever you feel like it, you can do something for them. Not so with me. She did what she could when she could—she pre-anointed my body for burial. And you can be sure that wherever in the whole world the Message is preached, what she just did is going to be talked about admiringly."

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. Why are you bothering her? She has done a noble thing

King James Version (1611)
And Iesus said, Let her alone, why trouble you her? Shee hath wrought a good worke on me.

King James Version
And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me.

English Standard Version
But Jesus said, "Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.

New American Standard Bible
But Jesus said, "Leave her alone! Why are you bothering her? She has done a good deed for Me.

New Century Version
Jesus said, "Leave her alone. Why are you troubling her? She did an excellent thing for me.

Amplified Bible
But Jesus said, "Let her alone; why are you bothering her and causing trouble? She has done a good and beautiful thing to Me.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
But Jesus said, "Let her alone; why do you bother her? She has done a good deed to Me.

Legacy Standard Bible
But Jesus said, "Let her alone; why do you bother her? She did a good work to Me.

Berean Standard Bible
But Jesus said, "Leave her alone; why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful deed to Me.

Contemporary English Version
But Jesus said: Leave her alone! Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing for me.

Complete Jewish Bible
But he said, "Let her be. Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing for me.

Darby Translation
But Jesus said, Let her alone; why do ye trouble her? she has wrought a good work as to me;

Easy-to-Read Version
Jesus said, "Leave her alone. Why are you giving her such trouble? She did a very good thing for me.

Geneva Bible (1587)
But Iesus saide, Let her alone: why trouble yee her? shee hath wrought a good worke on me.

George Lamsa Translation
Jesus said, Leave her alone; why do you trouble her? She has done a good work to me.

Good News Translation
But Jesus said, "Leave her alone! Why are you bothering her? She has done a fine and beautiful thing for me.

Lexham English Bible
But Jesus said, "Leave her alone. Why do you cause trouble for her? She has done a good deed to me.

Literal Translation
But Jesus said, Let her alone. Why do you cause her troubles? She worked a good work toward Me.

American Standard Version
But Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me.

Bible in Basic English
But Jesus said, Let her be; why are you troubling her? she has done a kind act to me.

Hebrew Names Version
But Yeshua said, "Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for me.

International Standard Version
But Jesus said, "Leave her alone. Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing for me.

Etheridge Translation
But he, Jeshu, said, Let her alone; why do you trouble her ? A good work hath she wrought upon me.

Murdock Translation
But Jesus said: Let her alone; why trouble ye her? She hath done an excellent act towards me.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Iesus sayde: let her alone, why trouble ye her? She hath done a good worke on me.

English Revised Version
But Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me.

World English Bible
But Jesus said, "Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for me.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
But Jesus said, Let her alone: why trouble ye her? She hath wrought a good work on me.

Weymouth's New Testament
But Jesus said, "Leave her alone: why are you troubling her? She has done a most gracious act towards me.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
But Jhesus seide, Suffre ye hir; what be ye heuy to hir? sche hath wrouyt a good werk in me.

Update Bible Version
But Jesus said, Let her alone; why do you trouble her? she has worked a good work on me.

Webster's Bible Translation
And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me.

New English Translation
But Jesus said, "Leave her alone. Why are you bothering her? She has done a good service for me.

New King James Version
But Jesus said, "Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me.

New Living Translation
But Jesus replied, "Leave her alone. Why criticize her for doing such a good thing to me?

New Life Bible
Jesus said, "Let her alone. Why are you giving her trouble? She has done a good thing to Me.

New Revised Standard
But Jesus said, "Let her alone; why do you trouble her? She has performed a good service for me.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
But, Jesus, said - Let her alone! Why are ye reproaching, her? A seemly work, hath she wrought, in me;

Douay-Rheims Bible
But Jesus said: Let her alone. Why do You molest her? She hath wrought a good work upon me.

Revised Standard Version
But Jesus said, "Let her alone; why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And Iesus sayde: let hir be in reest why trouble ye hir? She hath done a good worke on me.

Young's Literal Translation
And Jesus said, `Let her alone; why are ye giving her trouble? a good work she wrought on me;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But Iesus sayde: let her be in rest. Why trouble ye her? She hath done a good worke vpo me.

Mace New Testament (1729)
but Jesus said, let her alone, why do you disquiet her? it is commendable, what she has done out of respect to me.

Simplified Cowboy Version
But Jesus shut them up right quick. "Y'all leave her alone. She hasn't done anything to you, but she has done something extremely nice for me.

Contextual Overview

¹In only two days the eight-day Festival of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread would begin. The high priests and religion scholars were looking for a way they could seize Jesus by stealth and kill him. They agreed that it should not be done during Passover Week. "We don't want the crowds up in arms," they said. ³Jesus was at Bethany, a guest of Simon the Leper. While he was eating dinner, a woman came up carrying a bottle of very expensive perfume. Opening the bottle, she poured it on his head. Some of the guests became furious among themselves. "That's criminal! A sheer waste! This perfume could have been sold for well over a year's wages and handed out to the poor." They swelled up in anger, nearly bursting with indignation over her. ⁶But Jesus said, "Let her alone. Why are you giving her a hard time? She has just done something wonderfully significant for me. You will have the poor with you every day for the rest of your lives. Whenever you feel like it, you can do something for them. Not so with me. She did what she could when she could—she pre-anointed my body for burial. And you can be sure that wherever in the whole world the Message is preached, what she just did is going to be talked about admiringly." ¹⁰Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the cabal of high priests, determined to betray him. They couldn't believe their ears, and promised to pay him well. He started looking for just the right moment to hand him over.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Let: Job 42:7, Job 42:8, Isaiah 54:17, 2 Corinthians 10:18

a good: Matthew 26:10, John 10:32, John 10:33, Acts 9:36, 2 Corinthians 9:8, Ephesians 2:10, Colossians 1:10, 2 Thessalonians 2:17, 1 Timothy 5:10, 1 Timothy 6:18, 2 Timothy 2:21, 2 Timothy 3:17, Titus 2:7, Titus 2:14, Titus 3:8, Titus 3:14, Hebrews 10:24, Hebrews 13:21, 1 Peter 2:12

Reciprocal: 2 Kings 4:27 - Let her alone Proverbs 19:22 - desire Song of Solomon 8:1 - yea Luke 22:56 - a certain maid John 12:7 - Let

Cross-References

Genesis 16:7
An angel of God found her beside a spring in the desert; it was the spring on the road to Shur. He said, "Hagar, maid of Sarai, what are you doing here?" She said, "I'm running away from Sarai my mistress."

Numbers 13:3
So Moses sent them off from the Wilderness of Paran at the command of God . All of them were leaders in Israel, one from each tribe. These were their names: from Reuben: Shammua son of Zaccur from Simeon: Shaphat son of Hori from Judah: Caleb son of Jephunneh from Issachar: Igal son of Joseph from Ephraim: Hoshea son of Nun from Benjamin: Palti son of Raphu from Zebulun: Gaddiel son of Sodi from Manasseh (a Joseph tribe): Gaddi son of Susi from Dan: Ammiel son of Gemalli from Asher: Sethur son of Michael from Naphtali: Nahbi son of Vophsi from Gad: Geuel son of Maki.

Habakkuk 3:3
God's on his way again, retracing the old salvation route, Coming up from the south through Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran. Skies are blazing with his splendor, his praises sounding through the earth, His cloud-brightness like dawn, exploding, spreading, forked-lightning shooting from his hand— what power hidden in that fist! Plague marches before him, pestilence at his heels! He stops. He shakes Earth. He looks around. Nations tremble. The age-old mountains fall to pieces; ancient hills collapse like a spent balloon. The paths God takes are older than the oldest mountains and hills. I saw everyone worried, in a panic: Old wilderness adversaries, Cushan and Midian, were terrified, hoping he wouldn't notice them.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Jesus said, let her alone,.... Jesus knowing the secret indignation of some of his disciples, and their private murmurings at the woman, and their continual teasings of her, because of the expense of the ointment, said to them, as the Arabic and Ethiopic versions read; or "to the disciples", as the Persic, let the woman alone, cease to chide and reprove her for what she has done;

why trouble ye her? why do you grieve her, by charging her with imprudence and extravagance, as if she had been guilty of a very great crime? she is so far from it, that

she hath wrought a good work on me; she has done me an honour; expressed faith in me, and shown love to me, and ought to be commended, and not reproved; :-.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

See this passage explained in the notes at Matthew 26:1-16.

Mark 14:1

And of unleavened bread - So called because at that feast no other bread was used but that which had been made without leaven or yeast.

By craft - By subtlety (Matthew); that is, by some secret plan that would secure possession of him without exciting the opposition of the people.

Mark 14:3

Ointment - This word does not convey quite the proper meaning. This was a perfume. It was used only to give a pleasant odor, and was liquid.

Of spikenard - The “nard,” from which this perfume was made, is a plant of the East Indies, with a small, slender stalk, and a heavy, thick root. The best perfume is obtained from the root, though the stalk and fruit are used for that purpose.

And she brake the box - This may mean no more than that she broke the “seal” of the box, so that it could be poured out. Boxes of perfumes are often sealed or made fast with wax, to prevent the perfume from escaping. It was not likely that she would break the box itself when it was unnecessary, and when the unguent, being liquid, would have been wasted; nor from a broken box or vial could she easily have “poured it” on his head.

Mark 14:5

Three hundred pence - About forty dollars (or 9 British pounds). See the notes at Matthew 26:7.

Mark 14:8

She hath done what she could - She has showed the highest attachment in her power; and it was, as it is now, a sufficient argument against there being any “real” waste, that it was done for the honor of Christ. See this passage explained in the notes at Matthew 26:1-16.